Mr S likes Manchester. It’s a fun, fetching and successful city. But is it the best place for a game of cricket?
On Sunday, Australia retained the Ashes after the Old Trafford Test was drawn thanks to Manchester’s infamous rain. Down south, there would have been enough sun on Sunday for England to level the series, taking it down to one final Test at the Oval and a chance to win the famous urn.
That result came just days after it was announced that the Old Trafford Test will be axed for the next home Ashes in 2027 (as has Headingley in Leeds). The furthest north the players will travel is Nottingham where temperatures are typically more mild. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, immediately called on the England and Wales Cricket Board to reconsider, arguing that ‘very few grounds attract support as passionate or indeed as diverse as Headingley and Old Trafford… it does not feel right that, at a time when cricket needs to do more to spread interest in the game around the country, that London consistently hosts three Tests every summer.
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